AT half-past two in the afternoon, of 12th February last, the Ramsgate Lifeboat and tug were called out by a message from the Coast Guard that a vessel— found afterwards to be the ketch Lord Hamilton—was ashore on the north-east part of the Goodwin Sands. A strong easterly gale was blowing with a very heavy sea, and the Life-boat and tug got abreast of the wreck to windward about five o'clock. The Life-boat then cast off, ran to leeward towards the wreck until she was within about eighty yards and then, anchoring, veered down. The crew found her to be a ketch, sunk six feet below the water with her foremast standing above the surface. After leaving the tug, and as they approached the wreck, the crew of the Life-boat had thought that they saw men in the rigging, but now, lying ten or fifteen yards off the foremast, they saw that what they had taken for men were pieces of torn sail.

The Coxswain ordered all hands to look out for any sign of life but none could be seen.

A tremendous sea was running,.and the Life-boat herself was in great peril of being smashed against the wreck. One huge wave in fact swept her right over the after-part of it, and the Coxswain was compelled to slip his cable, leaving both anchor and cable behind, in order to get clear. He then made sail across the sands, it being now high water, and returned to Ramsgate, picking up the tug before entering the harbour, which was reached about halfpast six.

Next day a motor-boat was sent out by the Honorary Secretary, which reached the wreck shortly after ten in the morning, and her crew saw two men come out of a bunch of torn sail at the masthead. They rescued them and brought them safely to Ramsgate. The next day the motor-boat went out again and recovered the anchor and part of the cable which had to be cut, as it had fouled the wreck.

From the account of the two rescued men, the Master and mate of the ketch, the crew consisted of four men. It was nearly' midnight when they had gone ashore, and one of the men was swept away two hours later. The other three were still in the rigging when, on the afternoon following, the Life-boat reached the wreck. When she was half a mile away, the Master of the ketch had waved his hand and shouted, but, believing that he had been seen, he did not wave or shout again. All three men remained wrapped up in the torn sail, and that was the reason why, in the failing light, they were not seen. Some hours after the Life-boat left the wreck one of them lost consciousness and was swept away.

One of the two bodies was recovered, and on 25th February an inquest was held. The verdict returned was " Death from misadventure," but in the course of his summing up the coroner said that there had been a " lamentable failure " on the part of the Life-boat Crew.

Before the holding of the inquest there had been a good deal of ill-informed comment, but this most severe stricture on the crew of a Station which has a record second to none in the history of the Life-boat Service, was deeply resented not only in Ramsgate, but in other parts of the country. Many messages of sympathy were received by the Coxswain, and the crew petitioned the Institution for an inquiry.

In the opinion of the technical officers of the Institution everything possible was done by Coxswain and crew in circumstances of great peril to the Lifeboat herself, and no blame attached to them for their failure to discover the three men. In view, however, of the coroner's statement, and in justice to the Coxswain and crew, the Institution asked the Board of Trade to hold an inquiry, but the Board of Trade found itself unable to do this, and suggested that the inquiry should be held by the Institution itself.

The matter was thereupon raised in the House of Commons by two members of the Committee of Management, Captain Lord Curzon, E.N.V.E., and Major-General Seely. Lord Curzon said that " the absurdity of the coroner's remarks was evident to any one who knew anything of the sea." General Seely, speaking as one who has had thirty-five years' experience as a member of a Life-boat Crew, said : " In a whole gale of wind this Boat went out on to the Goodwin Sands, and only those who have been through any gale will realize what this means for those gallant men.

It is a cruel thing that a coroner, inexperienced in nautical matters, should cast an- aspersion upon a very gallant body of men who daily and hourly risk their lives in order to serve others." In his reply the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, Mr. A. V.

Alexander, said: "I welcome the opportunity which has been taken of drawing attention to the fact that the Board of Trade did make inquiry, through their technical officers, as to the circumstances of this unfortunate happening, and they were perfectly convinced, on the advice of their officers, that there was no need for the Board of Trade to hold an inquiry. Nothing came to light to show evidence either of want of diligence or of want of seamanlike qualities on the part of the Coxswain or the crew of the Life-boat.

" As far as the Board of Trade is concerned, the matter rests there. We do not think it necessary for the Board of Trade to hold an inquiry in these circumstances.

It is very peculiar that in this calamity the Life-boat should have been able as it was in the teeth of a gale to get into such close proximity to the vessel. These unfortunate fellows were on the mast and had wrapped themselves in the sail for protection, and it is quite conceivable, in rough seas and a heavy gale, that it was almost impossible to detect any signs of life. The peculiar thing is that apparently, perhaps because of the gale, no sound of any kind, neither a hail from the men on the mast nor anything else, reached the men in the Lifeboat.

The fact that the crew of the Life-boat made every effort to get to the scene of the wreck and discover if any lives were there to be saved is proved by the fact that they put their anchor down,but had to withdraw again, and when the Motor-boat went out it picked up the anchor which, had been left. As far as the Board of Trade and the Government are concerned, we have every admiration for and every desire to support the magnificent voluntary work which has been undertaken by the NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION. We can quite understand that there has been a considerable amount of anxiety since the coroner's inquiry, because of what has transpired, but we are confident that, when the facts are known to the public at large, the great ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOA* INSTITUTION and the men who so gallantly sacrifice themselves again and again in the interests of humanity will not suffer." In view of his reply the Institution felt that no further action was necessary and that the Ramsgate Coxswain and crew had been completely vindicated.

A letter was therefore sent asking the Honorary Secretary to inform them of the Committee's " complete confidence that they had behaved in every way in accordance with the high traditions of the Lifeboat Service." Many letters were received which showed not only the public interest in the case but how deeply and how personally many people felt the slur which had been cast on the men of the Service.

The Organizing Secretary for the North of England reported, " I have seldom met with greater indignation than during the last week when on the north-east coast." The whole Bembridge crew wrote : There is not a member of a Life-boat crew but what can entirely appreciate the position of the Ramsgate men "; and the Honorary Secretary at Lowestoft wrote that Coxswain Swan had had an almost identical experience in February, 1915, when the Lowestoft Life-boat went out to the sprit barge Surdar of London which had gone aground on the Sands. " He got alongside and held on with bis grappling irons, and having seen no life on board was on the point of leaving when the crew of two men suddenly unrolled the topsail and showed themselves and were eventually rescued." The father of one of the two men who were drowned wrote from Canada to the Coxswain :— " We have heard a lot of the wreck through English papers sent out, and this is my reason for writing to you.

Now, sir, I do not want you to think that I hold you responsible for the loss of my boy, for my only regret is that ever such a comment should be made by any man, especially by one who, I gather, lives within sight of the Goodwin Sands, and knowing well the glorious record of the Life-boatmen around the coast. I myself, before coming to Canada, followed the sea for twenty years in the coasting trade, and know what the Goodwin Sands are bike. I doubt whether that man would care to take a trip with you some time on your errand of mercy; I am afraid if he did he would not be so ready to criticize."